Kadala Curry

I love chick peas. When I saw Sarah Naveen’s kadala curry, I was tempted to try it and my family finished it up for dinner yesterday. I made a few changes according to my family’s taste buds.

Ingredients:
Black channa - ¾ cup
Onion - 2 (medium-chopped)
Garlic - 1 ½ tsp. (minced)
Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)
Tomato - 2 (chopped)
Green chilies - 3 (half slit)
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Coconut milk (thick)- ½ cup
Curry leaves - 5
Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp.
Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp.
Garam masala - ¼ tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Oil

Method:
Soak the black chana for 8 hrs and boil them by adding little salt.
Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard and cumin seeds.
When the mustard seeds crackle, add the onion ,curry leaves and fry till they turn golden color.
Add the ginger, garlic and green chilies and fry.
Add the tomato pieces ,salt and sauté.
Now add the red chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder. Mix well.
Add the black chana with the water, and let it boil for 5 minutes.
Now add the garam masala and mix.
Add the coconut milk and immediately remove from heat.
Serve with puttu, chapathi, dosai and idli.

Sent off to Sra's "My Legume Love Affair" event. It's originally started by Susan.

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Corn & Peas Rice

Ingredients:
Corn kernels (fresh) -½ cup
Green peas (fresh) - ½ cup
Basmati rice - 1 cup
Chilli powder - ¾ tsp.
Sambar powder - 3/4 tsp.
Garam masala - 2 pinches
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp.
Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp.
Salt
Oil
Coriander leaves - few (forgot to add)

Method:
Cook the rice. Steam corn and peas for 5 minutes.
Heat oil in a kadai and add the mustard and cumin seeds.
When mustard crackles, add the corn and peas.
Now add the sambar and chili powder and mix well.
Add the cooked rice and mix.
Add salt, garam masala and coriander leaves.
Mix and serve hot with yogurt.

Note:
Adjust the sambar and chili powder according to your taste.
Recipe source: Recipe book.

Sent off to Srilekha's "EFM-Variety Rice Series". Click on the picture for details.

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Oats Wheat Rava Laddu

Ingredients:
Oats (Quick cooking) - 1 cup
Wheat rava - 1 cup
Condensed milk - ½ cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp. + ½ tsp.
Grated coconut (optional)

Method:
Fry the wheat rava in ½ tsp. of ghee till they turn light red color without burning. Cool. Coarsely powder them.
Dry roast the oats. Cool. Powder them.
Now mix the wheat rava and oats flour.
Add the condensed milk. Mix well.
Add 1 tbsp. of ghee and mix well.
Make them into balls.
Then roll it on the grated coconut (optional).
Enjoy the low-fat sweet.

Sent off to Saraswathi Iyer's "Oats Feast Event".

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Masala Dosai/Masal Dosa

The Masala Dosa has become one of my favorites ever since when I was a little kid. Especially in restaurants, the first we would order is masala dosa which would occupy ¾th of the table’s total space. And I would finish the quarter dosa and lap up the sambar. Of course, I would mess up my shirt doing that. This recipe is from my hubby’s recipe collection in 1999.

Ingredients:
For Dosa:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Maida - 1 cup
Urad dal - ¾ cup
Chana dal - ¼ cup
Sugar - 1 tsp.
Salt

For Masala:
Potatoes - 4 (medium)
Onion - 2 (medium-sliced)
Green chillies - 4 (slit lengthily)
Ginger - 1 tsp. (chopped)
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp.
Water - ½ cup
Asafetida - 2 pinches
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp.
Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp.
Chana dal - ½ tsp.
Urad dal - ½ tsp.
Coriander leaves
Salt
Oil


Method for masala:
Boil the potatoes (cut into half) with little salt and ¼ tsp. turmeric powder.
After boiling, peel the skin and chop them into small pieces.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dal, cumin seeds, chana dal, asafetida.
When the mustard seeds start to crackle, add the onion and fry till they turn golden color.
Add the green chilies and ginger. Fry.
Add ½ cup of water.
To the water, add salt (remember, I have added a little salt earlier) and ¾ tsp. turmeric powder. Let it boil.
Now add the boiled potatoes and mix well.
While mixing, mash it in between.
Finally add the coriander leaves and remove from heat.

Method for dosa:
Soak dals for 4 hrs. Grind them.
Add rice flour and maida at the final stage by adding required water. Grind.
Add salt and sugar. Mix well. Let the batter ferment overnight.
Heat a non-stick dosa pan.
Take a ladle full of batter and spread it thin in a circle or oval shape.
Actually for masala dosa, they never flip the dosa in restaurants. But I flipped and cooked on the other side.
Fill the required masala (as per your taste) in the centre of the dosa and roll carefully.
Serve with your favorite chutneys and sambars.
Note:
The dosa in the first picture was cooked on medium heat.
The dosa in the second picture was cooked when the pan was 'stremely hot.
Sprinkle little water on the griddle and continue with the remaining batter.

Sent off to "Think Spice: Think Turmeric" event hosted by Sudeshna Banerjee. Think Spice series originally started by Sunita Bhuyan.

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Mini Idli Pepper Fry

Ingredients:
Mini idlis - 30
Onion - 2 (medium - chopped)
Ginger (grated) - 1 tsp.
Garlic (grated) - 1 tsp.
Green chilli - 2 (chopped)
Pepper powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - ¾ tsp.
Curry leaves - 4
Salt
Oil


Method:
Heat oil in kadai. Add onion, green chilies, garlic & ginger paste one by one and fry.
Add turmeric powder and salt. Mix well.
Add the mini idlis and toss well.
Add pepper powder and curry leaves. Toss again.
Serve hot.
Recipe Source: R.S.R.C.

Sent off to 'Think Spice: Think Turmeric' hosted by Sudeshna Banerjee. Think Spice series originally started by Sunita Bhuyan.

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Gulab Jamuns-ICC

This is the first time I’ve taken part in the “Indian Cooking Challenge” (ICC). I used 2 liters of full cream milk. I got 1 ¼ cup of khoya in 3 ½ hrs. For sugar, I used 3 cups and water 3 cups. And guess what, I made this on Aishwarya Rai Bachan’s birthday.

Ingredients:
Jamun:
Khoya/khova/mawa - 1 ¼ cup
Maida - ¾ cup
Cooking soda - 1 pinch
Ghee (for deep frying)

Sugar syrup:
Sugar - 3 cups
Water - 3 cups
Rose essence - few drops
Saffron strands - 1 pinch (didn't add)
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches

Sugar syrup method:
Melt the sugar in water and let it boil till the syrup is sticky.
Remove from heat.
Add the cardamom powder and saffron strands.
When the sugar syrup is warm, add the rose essence.

Jamun method:
Sift maida with cooking soda for 2 times.
Mix this with khova and knead it into a dough.
Divide them into small balls without any cracks.
Cover the balls with moist cloth without touching the balls.
To avoid the cracks, wet your hands with ghee and roll the ball with the hands.
Heat the ghee in a wide sauce pan (or oil).
Now add the balls and fry them in the low-flame level (5 balls in each batch).
Stir the ghee or oil with a slotted spoon without touching the jamuns which means swirling the ghee or oil without tossing or turning the jamuns.
Fry till it turns light brown color and keep it on a kitchen towel paper.
Continue the same with other balls.
Now add these jamuns in the syrup and let them soak for a few hours.
Enjoy.


The Khova:

I stopped at this stage (khova/khoya). My shoulders were paining and my poor @$$ got numb sitting on the kitchen-counter top while stirring this from 8:45 am to 12:15 pm! AAH! I didn't move out of the place even a millimeter to avoid the milk burning! But it was worth it as the jamuns got over in 2 days. They melted in our mouths when popped in...

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